Where there is injury to the hand, wrist or forearm, often immobilization is required. After immobilization, the hand, wrist or forearm are stiff. In view of this fact, it would be desirable to bring flexibility back to the stiff joints as quickly as possible. This invention accomplishes this objective.
In recent years it has become evident that the rehabilitation and treatment of injured joints can be expedited by use of passive motion of the joint. Passive motion entails inducing movement of certain limb portions without requiring muscle coordination or control by a patient's injured hand or wrist. Studies have shown passive motion of joints accelerates healing and recovery time.
On Jan. 8, 2011, I fell 15 feet onto a hard surface. Among the numerous broken bones were multiple compound fractures in my left wrist. During the healing process my doctor suggested that I begin therapy. Initially the goal was supination and pronation, then later flexion, extension, radial and ulnar deviation. The method suggested to achieve this goal, was to hold a hammer with my injured hand, by the handle and allow the weight of the hammer to stretch the soft tissue. This did not work very well. The handle of the hammer was difficult to hold. I thought there must be a better way. The better way, which I personally invented, is the device for which I am seeking patent protection. During a USPTO search, I found numerous other inventions with similar claims to improve range of motion such as Hepburn et al U.S. Pat. No. 6,740,051, Doran U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,799, and Bennett U.S. Pat. No. 6,443,874 to name a few. Most inventions I found were complicated, cumbersome, or cost prohibitive. I believe my invention overcomes those obstacles as well as offering additional therapeutic features.